Offside? Here’s how to get it right

It’s the World Cup. The Dutch are playing. The ball is played deep. The striker breaks away, the stadium holds its breath… and then the flag goes up. Offside. One half of the crowd shouts: “Fair enough!” The other half shouts: “How come?!” And you might be thinking: I think I understand this rule… sort of. Don’t worry. You’re not the only one.

Offside is one of the most talked-about rules in football. Even with VAR, lines on the screen and slow-motion replays, it can still be a source of debate. Yet the basics are easy to understand, if you know what to look out for.

After this course, you’ll look at every long ball, every disallowed goal and every celebrating striker who set off just a little too early in a different light.

Aim of the course
In this short course, 'Offside: How to Understand It', you’ll learn what offside means and when the referee blows the whistle for it. The offside rule is explained step by step in clear language, using familiar football situations and examples. This will help you better understand why a goal is sometimes disallowed and when a player is not actually offside.

What will you be able to do or know after the course?
In this course, you will learn:
- when a player is in an offside position;
- when an offside is actually signalled;
- when there is, in fact, no offside;
- what “actively taking part in the game” means;
- where the free kick is taken;
- and what new clarification applies from 2025/’26 onwards in the event of a goalkeeper’s throw.

Duration and workload
This course is short and accessible. You can complete the course in about 20 minutes. The total time required is approximately 30 minutes, including reading the explanations and taking the test.

If you choose this e-learning course, you will be directed to an online learning environment set up specifically for the Volunteer Academy. There, you will need to create an account to access this e-learning course. You can then use these login details to access several other e-learning courses.